Southern California -- this just in

Former LAPD officer suspected of bilking at least $2 million from fellow cops, other investors

May 12, 2011 | 2:07
pm

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

A former Los Angeles police officer charged with defrauding a handful of San Bernardino County people in an investment scam had been running real estate investment schemes for years and is suspected of bilking at least $2 million from fellow LAPD officers and other investors, authorities said.

Darcey Greenfield, 39, surrendered Wednesday to investigators from the San Bernardino County district attorney's real estate fraud unit, according to Mike Leibrich, the unit's senior investigator. She faces several felony charges, including the sale of false investment securities, the sale of securities without a license, and grand theft.

The criminal charges filed by San Bernardino County prosecutors stem from investments Greenfield allegedly solicited in 2007 and 2008, authorities said. Greenfield allegedly persuaded victims in San Bernardino County to invest their savings, totaling $265,000, in investment securities, the district attorney's office said in a written statement. The number of alleged victims included in the San Bernardino County case was not immediately clear.

Greenfield told the victims that the investment money would be used to help homeowners in foreclosure, according to the district attorney's office. The victims were promised they would get back a high rate of return and their principal, but they received nothing, authorities said.

She is suspected of taking money from victims outside of San Bernardino County as well. Over several months in 2007 and 2008, Greenfield told The Times, she collected about $2 million from investors and funneled it to a man who was ultimately discovered to be a con artist. San Bernardino County officials allege she collected more than $3 million from Los Angeles residents.

At least 13 LAPD employees are known from Greenfield's court records to have invested with her, including four detectives and five supervising sergeants. Police officials say they suspect that the total was higher because officers were probably pooling their money and investing under a single name.

At least three officers, including Greenfield, have declared bankruptcy. Others went further into debt to pay back friends and relatives who gave them money to invest.

Police officials launched an investigation last year after learning about the investment schemes. Greenfield resigned from the department this year before discipline proceedings were completed. It was not immediately clear if the Los Angeles County district attorney's office or other agencies are pursuing criminal charges against Greenfield.

Greenfield is being held at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. Her bail is set at $1,020,000.

For the record, 7:57 p.m. May 12: A previous headline on this post said that at least $2 million came solely from fellow cops.